Remote non-destructive testing

Abstract

An inspection apparatus for enabling a remotely-located expert to monitor an inspection by a non-expert, the apparatus comprising an inspection device capable of being operated by the non-expert, which is configured to generate inspection data indicative of a condition of a test object, and a communication unit configured to: divide the inspection data into first and second data; transfer the first data for being presented to the remotely-located expert at a first time, to facilitate substantially real-time monitoring of the inspection by the expert; and transfer the second data for being presented to the remotely-located expert at a second time, which is later than the first time, to facilitate non-real time monitoring of the inspection by the expert.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. An inspection apparatus for selecting configuration data to configure an inspection device, the inspection device being arranged to generate inspection data indicative of a condition of a test object, the inspection apparatus comprising:
 a position determination unit configured to obtain position data associated with the inspection device and to determine a position of the inspection device relative to the test object in dependence on the obtained position data; and 
 a configuration unit configured to:
 select configuration data from a database in dependence on the determined position, the database being configured to store configuration data in association with one or more parts of the test object, said configuration data being capable of configuring the inspection device to generate inspection data indicative of a condition of the test object, and 
 provide the selected configuration data to the inspection device. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The inspection apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , the position determination unit being configured to identify a part of the test object that is associated with the position of the inspection device relative to the test object. 
     
     
       3. The inspection apparatus as claimed in  claim 2 , the configuration unit being configured to select the configuration data in dependence on the identified part. 
     
     
       4. The inspection apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , the inspection apparatus comprising a user interface configured to, if the position determination unit identifies more than one part of the test object that is associated with the position of the inspection device relative to the test object:
 indicate to a user that more than one part has been identified; 
 receive an input from the user indicative of the user having selected one of the identified parts; and 
 inform the configuration unit of the selected one of the identified parts. 
 
     
     
       5. The inspection apparatus as claimed in  claim 4 , the configuration unit being configured to provide the inspection device with configuration data associated with the selected one of the identified parts. 
     
     
       6. The inspection apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , the configuration unit being arranged to use information from the database to generate further configuration data. 
     
     
       7. The inspection apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , the position determination unit comprising one or more of:
 a time-of-flight positioning system; 
 a spatial scan system configured to determine an angle between a beacon and a sensor to determine the position of the inspection device; 
 an inertial sensing system; 
 a positioning system configured to use one or more of optical signals, ultrasonic signals and radio waves; and 
 a positioning system comprising one or more of position, orientation and depth sensors and a motion tracking camera. 
 
     
     
       8. The inspection apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , in which the configuration data comprises one or more of: software routines, control settings, set-up information, operational parameters, pulse shapes, time gate settings, pulse timings, and pulse amplitudes. 
     
     
       9. The inspection apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , in which the inspection apparatus is configured to select configuration data for the inspection device in dependence on user input and/or configuration data generated by the inspection device earlier in the inspection. 
     
     
       10. The inspection apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , the database being remote from the inspection apparatus and the inspection apparatus being configured to access the database via a wired or wireless connection. 
     
     
       11. A method for configuring an inspection device, the inspection device being arranged to generate inspection data indicative of a condition of a test object, the method comprising:
 obtaining position data associated with the inspection device, 
 determining a position of the inspection device relative to the test object in dependence on the obtained position data, 
 selecting, from a database configured to store configuration data in association with one or more parts of the test object, configuration data in dependence on the determined position, said configuration data being capable of configuring the inspection device to generate the inspection data indicative of a condition of the test object, and 
 providing the selected configuration data to the inspection device. 
 
     
     
       12. The method as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising configuring the inspection device using the selected configuration data. 
     
     
       13. The method as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising identifying a part of the test object that is associated with the position of the inspection device relative to the test object. 
     
     
       14. The method as claimed in  claim 13 , further comprising selecting the configuration data in dependence on the identified part. 
     
     
       15. The method as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising using information from the database to generate further configuration data. 
     
     
       16. A method for configuring an inspection device, the inspection device being arranged to generate inspection data indicative of a condition of a test object, the method comprising:
 gathering position data associated with the inspection device; 
 determining, in dependence on the gathered position data, a position of the inspection device relative to the test object; 
 identifying, in dependence on the determined position, one or more possible inspection targets to be inspected using the inspection device; 
 in response to identifying more than one possible inspection targets, each of which identified possible inspection target is associated with a different configuration, selecting one of the identified possible inspection targets to be inspected; 
 selecting configuration data corresponding to the selected inspection target; and 
 providing the selected configuration data to the inspection device for configuring the inspection device in accordance with the selected configuration data. 
 
     
     
       17. The method as claimed in  claim 16 , further comprising configuring the inspection device using the selected configuration data. 
     
     
       18. The method as claimed in  claim 16 , further comprising receiving user input relating to the more than one possible inspection targets, and selecting the inspection target to be inspected in dependence on the received user input.